The Golden Knights are holding their annual “locker cleanout day” interviews via Zoom today with DeBoer speaking at 9 AM, players at 11 AM, and GM Kelly McCrimmon at 1:30 PM. We will be updating this page throughout the day with some of the most interesting quotes.
DeBoer on not winning the Stanley Cup
I’ve gotten to know Jon Cooper pretty well over the last few years and it reminds you that between Tampa’s first appearance in the Stanley Cup Final and winning the Stanley Cup there were five years in between. They made two conference finals, they missed the playoffs, and they got swept in the first round after winning the President’s Trophy. There’s pain.
DeBoer on Alec Martinez
I can’t understate the importance of him to our group in the time he’s been here with me. There’s a reason he’s a multiple Stanley Cup winner. There’s a reason you can count on him at the most important time of the year. It’s not an accident he scores than goal the other night. He rises to the occasion at the tough moments and you can never have enough guys like that.
DeBoer on keeping both goalies
The salary cap and that maneuvering is above my paygrade, that’s for Kelly and George to figure out. I can tell you it was obviously an integral part of our success this year, in the unique year we were in. With the condensed schedule and everything that went on it was obviously a blessing this year. Next year is a different story. We’re not in those unique circumstances anymore.
DeBoer on power play
From a coaching perspective, we’ve got to overturn stones and get some things better. The obvious one is the power play, that’s at the top of the list to fix. For me the power play isn’t a this year problem. I didn’t feel it was dangerous enough in the bubble, I thought it was mediocre. At the most important time in the bubble as we went through to the Dallas series it got cold at the wrong time. We shuffled some things, put a new set of eyes on it this year and it stumbled again. That’s going to be the priority moving forward.
DeBoer on young players
When I got the job 18 months ago we wanted to infuse some of the youth. Zach Whitecloud came in and grabbed a job and played regularly. We wanted to get Nic Hague in this year because he deserved to be in there and he did that all year for us. Nic Roy came in. There’s been an influx of youth into our group and there’s more on the horizon. For a young franchise, it’s important to keep infusing that youth, but at the same time it can’t be not earned and it can’t be at the detriment of the group not winning a Stanley Cup. They have to be able to pull their weight. That’s going to be the challenge for those young guys.
DeBoer on young player’s getting chances
The one thing about this organization is a young guy can’t say he never got an opportunity. I think we stuck young guys in all year and tried to put them in situations where they had a chance to succeed. You know, come in play on the first line, play with good players, play on the power play, play good minutes. So I think between injuries and COVID and roster I think the young players in this organization have been given an opportunity to show what they have. Some have seized the moment, some haven’t, some just aren’t ready yet and hopefully in September will be.
Reilly Smith on power play
There weren’t too many rocks that weren’t overturned looking for answers this year. We just didn’t have one consistent approach that seemed to be working.
Reilly Smith on playing with Misfit Line
It’s been a dream come true to be able to play with those guys as long as we have. I truly feel fortunate to be able to share the ice with those guys. Two guys that compete as hard as anyone. I’ve learned a lot playing with them and hopefully I’ve shed some insight for them as well.
Reilly Smith on contract extension (has one year left on deal)
I haven’t had any talks. If I was able to set up a deal myself it would be to finish up the rest of my career here in Vegas. But I know there are a lot of different pieces and it’s not as simple. I’m excited about those talks and where they might lead to.
Mark Stone on DeBoer as head coach
We’ve been to the conference finals back-to-back seasons with him as our coach. I don’t think the transition was easy for the first week or two, but as we started to have more and more success guys have started to buy into what he’s preached. We have a group of guys whose egos get thrown out the door when you walk in. We play to win every night. Obviously, we’re going to have to look at what we can do better. The only team that can say they are happy is the team that wins. We didn’t win so we’ll have to look back and see what we can improve on. I think our system is there. We’re great in our D-Zone all year, we scored goals all year, we just couldn’t get the job done in the key spots.
Mark Stone on challenges of last few seasons
Last year was very mentally difficult… I think this year was obviously different circumstances, but it started to feel more normal. Getting 18,000 in T-Mobile was obviously exciting… As a team you got through these hurdles. I’m glad this is where I am. I’m glad I made this decision to come to Las Vegas and sign for an extended period of time. I feel like the possibilities are endless for this team.
Max Pacioretty on feeling after losing
It still stings to go out against your old team like that… At some point you have to use it as motivation for next year.
Max Pacioretty on power play
It made guys doubt themselves and lose confidence. I think it had a negative impact with confidence and momentum swings.
Alex Pietrangelo on improved play in playoffs
When you play with guys long enough their tendencies kind of become second nature. That’s important for me. Playing in a new system is always different. I started to feel more comfortable with the way Pete wants us to play as things moved on.
Alex Pietrangelo on season and expectations
Was it a successful year in terms of getting to the conference finals, sure, but I feel like we all believe we fell short of our goal here.
Alex Pietrangelo on goalie tandem
Haven’t even thought about (the possibility of them not being back together). Great camaraderie between the two. I mean there’s obviously a great respect between the two of them. The way they helped each other and alternating games kept them fresh. It was a relationship that was fun to watch. Guys who have a really strong pedigree in this league to be able to be that close and respect each other kind of bled into the rest of the team.
Alex Tuch on how close they are to winning
Honestly, I thought we were there this year. We came up short, it was devastating, to say the least. Hats off to Montreal, they played a heck of a series and took it to us in several games. I do see our team improving every year and I know we can take the next step next year.
Alex Tuch on room for growth
I’m going to try and grow in every area of my game. The steps I took were in all three zones. Being a little more physical and I think I was better in the defensive zone.
Mattias Janmark on contract
I knew I got traded here and I had an expiring deal and I wasn’t expecting anything to happen after I got traded. I know this team is very tight against the cap. I loved every minute of it here. For sure I could see myself playing here for longer but it’s a little more complex than that.
Robin Lehner on goalie tandem
It’s been great. I think it was a strength of the team. On some different occasions, I think it’s been blown out of proportion here. Playing with Marc is a privilege. It’s been a pretty special few seasons here with everything that’s been going on. I think we’ve handled it well. It’s not as big as people make it out to be. I think a lot of playoff teams wish they had two. It’s not always about injuries. There are some teams that figure out certain goalies more than other teams so it’s always good to have options. It’s been a pleasure playing with him and we’ll see what happens. He’s a great human being and a great goalie.
Robin Lehner on goalie narrative
The narrative sometimes spins that it’s a negative thing. I get it, Flower is as much of a legend to me as he is to you guys. It’s always a polar opposite thing, there’s always a plus and a minus, but that’s not how we look at it.
Patrick Brown on being UFA
I love it here. It’s a great place to play and I’d love to be back. We’ll see where those discussions got but I have nothing but good things to say. I think this team can win soon and I want to be a part of it.
Alec Martinez on being pending UFA
I’m obviously aware that I am a UFA but the loss is pretty fresh, just a couple days ago. So, I don’t know, I really don’t know yet. We’ll see what happens.
Alec Martinez on playing through injuries
There was a lot of rest. Obviously I couldn’t really talk about it much then but I touched on our medical staff. They did an incredible job in taking care of me day in and day out. It was a broken foot. So I was I guess getting wheeled around a lot. Our medical staff is awesome here. From the doctors to the trainers, really a tip of a cap to those guys.
Marc-Andre Fleury on goalie tandem staying together
I hope so. Our relationship grew over the season. We get along very well. Obviously, as goalies it’s something you strive for, winning games and not giving up too much. Both of us together I think accomplished that this year.
Kelly McCrimmon on season outlook
We had a really consistent, positively successful year. We beat a really good team in Minnesota and the President’s Trophy winner in the 2nd round. Both of those series we were able to win on home ice. This was our best team. We made improvements to our team in terms of personnel. We made improvements in style of play. Like everyone in the organization, I am extremely disappointed to not be headed to the Stanley Cup Final.
Kelly McCrimmon on goalie tandem
I think it worked really well. The Jenning’s Trophy is a pretty good indicator of how well it worked. I think that it helped us in the playoffs as well. We were really fortunate to have two goaltenders as good as we had this year.
Kelly McCrimmon on Cody Glass and Peyton Krebs
Both players are real good prospects. I don’t know if there was any expectation of Peyton to be a candidate to play in the playoffs… He was healthy and available, so he was cleared to play, if the coaches would have selected him. With respect to Cody it was likely a tougher year than he expected. I hope he knows that we believe in him… There’s a long list of players that have been a little later finding their way and we still expect Cody to do that.
Richard Santomauro
Sorry, I am simply done with DeBoer, his words and his lack of production. This team hasn’t gotten any better. It has actually regressed, especially on the power play.
The inability to find a solution to the problem with Stephenson out of the line up is particularly disturbing. Some following this group say we need to go out yet again and purchase a high end high salaried center man. NO! Stop mortgaging the future of this team for 32 year old+ veterans! We already have enough veterans on this roster. Period. This is of course my opinion and I am not open to debating the issue. I realize that there are others who are drooling over the prospect of shedding a goalie for Eichel. I get it. We won’t need to high salaried goalies in Season 5. I get it. That being the case, which goalie should be retained? If you think that Lehner is the long term solution to the starting goalie position then that’s your opinion. I respect that. However, I am of the opinion that you keep MAF and have him mentor this years top AHL goalie, Logan Thompson as the eventual future starter. MAF still has several years of play in him.
Lastly, I cannot wait until the day when DeBoer is let go. I am simply not a fan. He had a chance in Season 4 and 5 to right the ship and I have seen absolutely nothing positive from him. This team would have been just as good under GG. I simply don’t see the upgrade. Please, someone try to point me in the right direction, pull back the curtain for me on it because it simply isn’t readily apparent to me.
Under GG, the team went to the Stanley Cup finals in year 1 and was doing fine until he was fired. That was a shock to the fan base and I am sure to the team.
Again, I am sure there are some of you who are PDB lovers. That’s fine. You’re on the PDB wagon. I respect that. I am simply sharing my opinion.
Other than the above, I don’t see VGK doing to much to the roster in the offseason. Try to resign Martinez, hopefully get something for Lehner, McNabb or Holden. Bring Nick Hague and try out several other HSK players, especially the two big D men.
I am a no on Eichel or spending more on any more “wants” like Eichel.
Lastly, Petro played awful through this season but turned it around in the playoffs big time. His play was greatly improved during the playoffs.
Lines 1 and 2 definitely remain the same. Possibly a tweak on line 3, and maybe a major rewrite of line 4. Don’t close the book yet on Cody Glass and lets see what Krebs and Lechsyn can bring in Season 5.
By the way, Ken – is there any way to block the crazy constant racist hatred? It’s really off the charts with one particular individual.
Coyote
I agree about DeBoer. I am in the GG support camp. I like McNabb, Holden, and Lehner. (I like Fleury, of course, too – tough decisions will have to be made.) After watching the MTL series, I would love to have Denault as a center on our team.
Mark
Are you talking about Reaves ???? It’s not racist to call him a non producer, which I think he is not. I love the guy more than Ken, he knows his job. My only criticism is he shouldn’t of taken a knee, as a Canadian, that pissed off alot of people, especially military families who lost loved ones in battle and others had their limbs blown off for hardly no money. Respect us, he shouldn’t of taken a knee, end of story, no racism here or with Ken.
Richard Santomauro
Mark,
No, nothing about Reaves.
I am talking about some back and forth between Pauly and some others. It’s over the top and doesn’t belong here.
In any case, I do agree with you about the kneeling. I am against it although I served 30 years in the military service for freedom of speech. So, it’s not that people don’t have the right to do it. I am against it because disrespecting your national flag and anthem is simply misdirected ire. I’ve been assigned to a casket myself for a fallen military hero, having to fly with it from overseas back to the states to accompany it all the way back to the family.
People, both in Canada and the USA, should travel around the globe to some of the places where there is no freedom, where slavery and human trafficking are much worse, where child labor is in the open. I am off on a rant now and don’t mean to create a magnet for further dialogue on this. I won’t respond at all to any further politics here. I just hope Ken can somehow make it stop. That was the only reason I commented.
Back to hockey…..
Pauly
Dumbest fanbase in sports…
knights fan in minny
are you finally awake pauly how was your friday night of thugging do you have some more money for the blm lady who took your money and bought spendy houses in white neighborhoods she fleeced you blacks just like al sharpton wake your stupid people up free free paulies people want free stuff
Daryl
Hey Pauline… I heard there was a robbery at the liquor store in north LV. Only thing taken were 40s and Hennessey. Was that you???
Bill
Winningest, though
Stephanie
Then why are you here again ?
Julie
Richard, thank you for your service. My oldest son is in Ft. Gordon now in satellite communications. My youngest is on the same path, following their Dad. I might be a little different than you in that I don’t think social protests should be in hockey at all. I am also a military brat. Both boys played a little hockey in their younger years. I know you don’t want to get into it, just trying to show some support.
Mister Mister
Let him take a knee, it’s changing absolutely nothing. Who care really about national Anthem. When they start singing its the time i go to make popcorn or toilet break before the game.
Daryl
It means something to a lot of us, to some of us who have served, who have had family served, and who have lost friends/family who have served
Coyote
Respectfully, kneeling was never, ever about the military.
Daryl
It’s intention was not I agree. It’s like saying…. No disrespect, BUT
the hockey God
let them take a knee on their own time
entitlement morons that they are, we don’t pay money to see these idiots insult our flag, our veterans, and our national anthem
i have no use for their identity politics BS
Daryl
This is about the only thing you and I agree on (and maybe some about DE).
Daryl
I agree with everything you said except for the Center situation. To me, a top tier Center is a NEED not a WANT. That is where VGK has screwed themselves recently. They’ve gone after wants and not needs. Staal was available at the trade deadline and would have been a huge pickup. Not the #1 Center kind but a great addition. Instead, they went after a Winger and a Defenseman.
Richard Santomauro
Daryl,
In hindsight, yes agree. Fast forward to know and the CAP limits are what they are. The question is whether or not enough cap space can be freed up to shop or not. Maybe, maybe not. What does a deal look like, what’s the age of the player and are we going to be looking at a long term or short term acquisition. So, we may disagree on whether or not it is a need or a want, but I wouldn’t be unhappy if we found the right Center to fit. I wouldn’t trade any of the top 9 except for possibly Janmark.
Peyton Krebs is only 20, 5’11” and 180lbs. Very young, but then so too is Suzuki who is 21, 5’11” but listed at 208lbs.
Cody Glass has struggled to stick with the big club, but he has shown signs of promise. Cody was the 6th overall pick in 2017. He’s now 23 and listed at 6’3″ 206.
Jake Leschyshyn, age 22, 5’11” 190lbs is on the HSK and has looked promising as well. 2017, 2nd round 31st pick.
That’s 3 young centers that the VGK is developing. We have seen a lot of Cody Glass, much of it not very promising to date.
It will be interesting to see what the VGK FO is going to do during the offseason, that’s for sure.
Blitz
I didn’t like Deboer at first, in fact hated him. Now, I think he did ok with certain aspects of the team and I respect him for those changes, but I still dislike him. Hate his pressers too, as a fan. His inability to adjust to teams in game or in a series are shocking. You look at a team like the Avs, who were getting beat pretty bad in game 3 and 4, but you could see they changed things. They were adapting to over-come what we were doing to them. I respect that at least. I don’t see that in Deboer. He is a system guy. “Play our game and we will be fine”. After two playoff exits I don’t buy it. However, I don’t see him going anywhere any time soon, unless this team misses the playoffs next year etc.
Flower needs at least one more year here then *maybe* retire (or two years if he is still playing like this year). I like Thompson I hope he gets a backup role this year. I don’t see Lehner as a role model. Nice guy I am sure, but just seems like a train wreck. I dislike his play. I don’t see skill outside his size. He keeps his brick-wall size to the shooters, so that is good, and will stop a fair amount of shots because of this, as long as dmen are doing a good job helping out. His glove is slow. He moves like an air craft carrier. If he goes down it almost takes a stoppage of play for him to get back up. It should almost be the defensemen’s job to help him up. Anyway, after what I saw this year (and felt last year in the playoffs) if he gets the job over Fleury I will be disappointed in this FO once again. On the flip side it would probably mean Thompson would have a starting job by the end of the year. Just keep flower for christ sake.
My predictions on players (not by choice, just guessing what will happen):
-Lehner gone (or flower cause no one wants Lehner, one will def go)
-Patches gone (saves good money, older player, younger sniper as replacement)
-Janmark not re-signed
-2 of these 3 gone: Holden, Theo, McNabb, but depends on Marty resigning, maybe only 1 of these if he does not resign.
-Martinez a coin flip. His stock ($$$) has to be up right now and VGK tight cap space. I assume he will cost more. Maybe dropping two other d-men saves you coin for this.
-Maybe one of the 4th liner goes, haven’t put alot of thought there, just a feeling.
-Maybe Roy goes and is upgraded.
Who do we pick up? I have no idea, that is harder cause I don’t know other teams/players situation, expansion draft chaos etc. We clearly need offensive help, but I doubt it will be a big name, big money guy. So small upgrades most likely or pull players from HSK. It is an expansion year, so maybe there are trades and situations to take advantage of.
the hockey God
take your coach hate elsewhere, it won’t fly here
you are blinded and have an obvious mental deficiency issue and have no clue on what it takes to win a Stanley Cup in Bettman’s NHL.
pauly is a problem, he threatens people, call the internet police.
better yet ignore him, i do, he’s a moron , do not feed the troll
Daryl
What exactly has PDB done that has given you such favoritism (and blindness). I find it sad that you will tell another he has a mental deficiency simply because he disagrees with you on a certain matter, one that a lot of us don’t see the same as you.
the hockey God
the VGK got to conference finals for second year in row, THAT IS A PLUS FACTOR
that is success not failure. They also had the best team in the league, and lost the president’s trophy due to CAP issues. THAT IS A PLUS FACTOR.
They developed at least one good D man, no 2 , and have a potentially another good one on its way , no14. They also have a another CENTER , no 10, that came through in playoffs. Those are POSTIVE FACTORS !!
Seek therapy.
Just because the team ran out of gas to a mucker team like the habs does not mean that is the coaches fault.
I listed fACTS, all you have is bull shit and coach hate.
Seek therapy lots of it.
PBD is a good coach he’s on par with all the other coaches that got into the semi finals. There are only a few coaches better than him in league now. The islanders coach, the panthers coach, the CAPS coach. Cooper is a good coach, not a great his team is stacked that is what is holding him back from being a great coach.. PDB is better than the Bruins , AVS, Sharks, Maple Leafs, Rangers, HABS , Blues, Preds, Wild, and Oiler coaches.
Some people think that teams can flip their style of play on the fly, like hitting a light switch. The real world of hockey team play doesn’t work like that.
Oh the power play sucked. You realize that in playoffs you have absolutely NO TIME to practice ? Or fix things on the fly ? You have travel dates, off days, game day, etc. Fans think that coaches can fix things and completely change the style of play over night.
Doesn’t work that way in real world of Stanley Cup playoffs
Daryl
What “facts” did you give us? This whole, we are a fast team and can’t play mucker hockey bs??? That isn’t a fact to anyone but you. Yes VGK went to Conference finals this year and yes they beat ONE better team than them in COL. They are a better team than MIN or MTL. They lost in part b/c they were out coached!
Best team in the League???? Again, that is your own opinion not backed by any facts at all.
As for developing players, who are these developed players you speak of? I really like whitecloud and he is good but he hasn’t progressed much since last season. Hague hasn’t progressed any. Who is the other good defenseman he’s developed? IMO, Theo has declined since PDB took over. As for #10, he had a couple good games in the playoffs but that doesn’t mean squat. A few good games doesn’t make a player.
Maybe you need to ask your Doc (and not the one on this site) for some medication.
Yes PDB is a good coach, I’ve never said otherwise, but he is no where near a great coach, an elite coach or an amazing coach. He’s not on par with half the coaches you listed.
As for style of play…. nobody said the flip the style of play on the fly. You prepare for an upcoming team and make adjustments as needed. You may not be able to make big adjustments during intermission but yes you can make them after games. COL did against us. And if you watched any of the other games, like TB, teams did as well. And yes, teams had practices between games. You can work on issues during light practices.
Now to the PP. We had issues last year under PDB with out PP. We’ve had issues ALL season long with our PP. This wasn’t something new entering the playoffs that suddenly needed to be fixed. They had all season to fix the PP and did nothing. You can blame the players or the PP coach, but it all comes back to your HC.
Mister Mister
Why are you saying Vegas was thd best team in the league? They played in the worst division versus horrible team. So yep of course they have lot of points ♂️
Pauly
Dumbest fanbase in sports
TOM McCarthy
I think Deboer is a terrible noach who lacks motivational skills.
What did he do for the Sharks?
Lets get rid of him and bring in mike
Babcock.
knights fan in minny
i thought he was going to coach a college team
Monica
Sharks are a completely different story. Too many big bucks contracts awarded to old guys that they are now stuck with.
the hockey God
babock is a relic, past his time, he can barely complete a sentence, and haven’t seen him on “expert” panel in semi finals. Did they can him ?
he, like GG, has been out of job for long time until GG recently got two before which he was passed over by NHL teams numerous times.
Babcock has actually ruined teams ! Unlike PBD.
Daryl
You say PDB hasn’t ruined teams but what happened to NJD or FLA or even SJS after he took over? Let me guess, it wasn’t his fault but the FO?
the hockey God
PDB didn’t sign all those fat cats in San Jose,. FO / ownership pays players, not the coach. This is the epitome of SOCIALIST NHL SALARY CAP system among other things related to teams peaking, not getting picks, and coming into situation at the apex of team’s success. NHL does not reward teams at their apex. NHL penalizes teams for being successful. IF you get your head out of your butt for once you would see that is a recurring theme in nearly all my posts against BETTMAN’s parity for all NHL.
Next you will say Babcock ruined the red wings and ruined the maple leafs. And Barry Trotz ruined the CAPS. And Quenneville ruined the Black Hawks. And Scotty Bowman ruined the red wings. As usual you are full of shit.
Daryl
As usual you show your ignorance! PDB took over a stacked team in the NJD and went backwards each year. He took over a very good SJS team and again declined in production. You can say what you want about the players but they were good and he couldn’t succeed. Same goes for FLA.
I’m still waiting for you to show what a great coach he is. BTW, I called it before you posted…. blaming the front office from the start.
Talk about getting ones head out of their ass… You take the cake topper
Wes Skworzec
First off I’d like to say congratulations to our Golden Knights! We played great this season and I’m eager to see us take the ice next season.
Ask any fan or player whose team didn’t make the playoffs this year if they would trade places with us. I can guarantee they would.
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Our front office seems to make changes for the sake of making changes. Stop it! We have a talented team, there’s nothing to fix, a tweek here and there yes. Players like Kolesar, Glass, Reaves, and perhaps even Nosek might be better suited elsewhere. We have a farm system that’s an Uber call away with prospects. Asking some players to restructure their contracts perhaps include bonuses for incentive. But please no more deals like they did for Tatar, Lehner, or Pacioretti with the no trade clause.
Mike StG
Wes, while I agree with your sentiments and many of your comments, just a few corrections:
1) NHL contracts cannot be restructured. They can be bought out or terminated by mutual agreement.
2) Most premium players won’t sign a deal that doesn’t have at least a modified NTC. A NMC is different and only Stone & Petro have that clause, and that is due to the leverage they had at the time the agreement was negotiated.
Cheers!
Coyote
Interesting. Reading between the lines, a goalie and Glass will be gone. The roster will look different next year. I guess we’ll see……….
Richard Santomauro
We should have sent Glass to Montreal instead of Suzuki!
the hockey God
nobody wanted Glass, it was pretty obvious from day one that suzuki was the much better player, you obvious missed all the rookie training camps and the rookie tournaments,
i dont’ know what you look at when your brain processes information, but the same process triggers coach hate.
seek therapy, lots of it
Daryl
Pot, kettle
Daryl
I thought the same thing
Richard Santomauro
DeNault’s not coming. He did play great though as did Caufield and Suzuki. Montreal was a fun team to watch and I hope they do well. It would be nice to see Merrill get his name on the Stanley Cup, Suzuki too.
Tiki Owl
I am in complete agreement with Richard. Please no shiny Free Agent chasing this off season. The biggest need is at Center and add there and if not restructure how your forwards attack. It seems the farther VGK went the more stagnant the offense got. Watching Montreal and Tampa move in the offensive zone it looked like they 6 or 7 forwards. Constant pressure and movement.
knights fan in minny
time for a long hard look in the mirror before the clubs come out
Fred
Who’s Vegas gonna give up in the expansion draft? Oooh I forgot they’re EXEMPT. Another bullshit deal for expansion teams that make the playoffs every year.
knights fan in minny
freddy another cry baby
Fred
Am I wrong minny
knights fan in minny
vegas does not make the rules fredo
Fred
Do I need crayons for you minny? I will ask you once again am I wrong? And please no name calling it makes your argument mute.
Daryl
Yes you are wrong…. VGK has a few players they could give up similar to other teams…. more 3rd pair forwards who aren’t much help to anyone else. I would probably help VGK if they could give up a player or two just to get rid of their salary
the hockey God
Daryl
What “facts” did you give us? I gave you a bunch of facts. Boy are you stupid or just plain ignorant ???? If you don’t like the style of play that the team employs then maybe you should root for another team. I suggest the Toledo mud hens. I gave you no. 2, no 14 (with ? mark), no. 10, All you have are lame excuses and coach hate.
you are clueless on goalie positioning
you don’t know what muckers are
you have no idea on difference between good ice and bad ice teams.
you have no idea that winning the stanley cup is a years long process, not instant gratification
you have no idea that teams can’t play one style one day and another style another day, nor change their style of play from one shift to the next
you have no idea on what you are watching and what your brain processes. Maybe you have holes in your eyes, or need a new set of glasses ?
bottom line, you are typical jump on band wagon “fan” with no hockey sense whatsoever
seek therapy, lots of it
Daryl
@thg…
What “facts” did you give??? And you are still using ice as an excuse. Maybe You are the one that is just dumb or completely ignorant when it comes to hockey. And it’s not a matter of liking the style of play, its the fact that this coach can’t make adjustments or prepare for teams. Again, that is very evident if you watched him here at VGK or during his time in SJS, FLA or NJD. Just ask their own fan base. But I wouldn’t expect you to believe them either since you seem to know EVERYTHING!!!
There you go again with blaming the ice. Do you know realize how stupid you sound to everyone else? Have you ever played goalie? I’m betting know but b/c you are 80y/o you think you know more than anyone else.
Talk about someone who is clueless. You are a joke on here. How many people thus far have called you out on y our BS? Your tag name on here has gone to your head. Reading your posts proves you don’t know shit about hockey. I wonder why you think you know more about hockey than anyone else??? Almost every post on here you are telling someone how wrong they are and how they don’t know what they are talking about. Looking at your posts, Pauline must be right, this must be the dumbest fan base ever since you are the only one who knows anything
Richard Santomauro
Let’s get this settled once and for all. The ICE had absolutely nothing to do with the Knights losing this series – period and end of discussion for me.
They lost due to piss poor coaching, inability to score on the power play, a fluke Billy Buckner moment by Fleury, and most of all because the Knights were gassed after playing two physically and emotionally intense playoff rounds while Montreal was able to take a siesta break.
That’s it. Not very difficult to dissect at all. Enough said.
And Trump didn’t win, but it was stolen by well coordinated fraud.
98
they are NOT getting any money from Seattle either, dummy
Daryl
Quit crying…. this team was filled with 3rd line players and 3rd pair defenseman. People like you act like this team was given all the talent in the world
Fred
I’m just stating the rules Daryl. Sorry if you dont like my comment take it up with most if the NHL fans who think ita a shitty rule.
Daryl
As I stated above, minus a few players VGK could easily afford to give up a couple for Seattle to take. It wouldn’t hurt them only help them. They would reduce their cap and give them options going forward. You look at the rule but not the scenarios. Look at who VGK picked up? What team was hurt by who VGK took? Who would VGK have to give up that would hurt this team???
People complain because they don’t know or understand exactly what they are talking about. Instead of doing research they look at things at face value.
Blitz
Interesting thought on who to give up. Here is who *I* would protect:
-Smith
-March
-Bill
-Stone
-Tuch
-Kolesar
-Krebs
-Martinez (after re-sign)
-White cloud
-Hague
-Fluery
Would cross my fingers that they took Pietrangelo. Not that the dude is bad or anything like that, probably the opposite, but the cap problems just go away and you get to do a redo.
Richard Santomauro
VGK doesn’t have to give up any and they don’t share in any of the $ either.
Daryl
@Richard…. Yes I know VGK doesn’t have to give up any players. My point was this doesn’t actually help VGK and it isn’t a plus for them. They would probably be better off giving up a player
the hockey God
fred the guy is worthless , and doesn’t get it
move on, he puts words into posts and thoughts that you don’t express
Daryl
You make inferences then get mad when called out on them. If anyone needs to move on from someone’s posts, it’s your posts. You are as worthless as this other old person who used to waste everyone’s time.
And NO, Trump didn’t win the election
Mister Mister
They start their Franchise with 4 first round pick + Theodore (5) + Reinhardt on did nothing but damn 6 first round pick, first year. It’s not normal. It’s Bettman nhl what to do.
Daryl
Who were those 6 1st round picks and where are they now? How many 1st round picks are ready to play in the 1st couple years?
Mike StG
Mister Mister, you are assessed a two minute minor for Embellishing. Your facts are wrong. They only had 3 picks in Round 1, not 4. Furthermore:
1) Vegas received one 1st round pick #6 which they used for Glass. By the way, #3-5 were Heiskanen (DAL), Makar (COL), Petterson (VAN). Too bad Vegas was only guaranteed no worse than 6th pick in the lottery, as opposed to SEA who was guaranteed to worse than 5th pick. Imagine what Pettey would be on Vegas’s roster.
2) Vegas traded with other teams for two more 1st round picks (#13 Suzuki & #15 Brannstrom). The NHL didn’t give them those picks. They were acquired through trades, not as gifts.
3) Theodore was ANA’s decision to leave unprotected. He wasn’t a draft pick, he had played parts of two years prior – a total of 53 games in which he accumulated 17 pts and was a +1. Nothing to write home about, and certainly not worthy of protection more than the Ducks 1st & 2nd pair Ds.
4) Griffin Reinhart (not Sam) was indeed a 1st round pick in 2012 and a bust. By the time EDM left him unprotected in 2017 he had amassed a glorious 2 points in a total of 37 games and was a -5. It’s dishonest to say he was a 1st round pick that Vegas was given. To this date he’s never played in another NHL game since playing for EDM in the 2016-16 season.
Daryl
Thank you for providing real facts and complete information
Coyote
Well stated, Mike.
Tom
Let’s not forget the Knights do not get any of the Seattle expansion fee.
Daryl
As per Mike (thanks again)…. maybe this will shed some light on your thoughts
1) Vegas received one 1st round pick #6 which they used for Glass. By the way, #3-5 were Heiskanen (DAL), Makar (COL), Petterson (VAN). Too bad Vegas was only guaranteed no worse than 6th pick in the lottery, as opposed to SEA who was guaranteed to worse than 5th pick. Imagine what Pettey would be on Vegas’s roster.
2) Vegas traded with other teams for two more 1st round picks (#13 Suzuki & #15 Brannstrom). The NHL didn’t give them those picks. They were acquired through trades, not as gifts.
3) Theodore was ANA’s decision to leave unprotected. He wasn’t a draft pick, he had played parts of two years prior – a total of 53 games in which he accumulated 17 pts and was a +1. Nothing to write home about, and certainly not worthy of protection more than the Ducks 1st & 2nd pair Ds.
4) Griffin Reinhart (not Sam) was indeed a 1st round pick in 2012 and a bust. By the time EDM left him unprotected in 2017 he had amassed a glorious 2 points in a total of 37 games and was a -5. It’s dishonest to say he was a 1st round pick that Vegas was given. To this date he’s never played in another NHL game since playing for EDM in the 2016-16 season.
Pauly
PDB is a loser who ruined SJS, NJD and now VGK…he must be fired
knights fan in minny
pauly is a loser and should go watch the loser sport hoops
knights fan in minny
vegas does not make the rules fredo
Tyler Durden
Fucking Marty played with a broken foot. That’s a warrior that missing from this soft team, looking at you Sone hair don’t care.
You got all these guys who can skate fast but have no warrior mentality.
LA Kings had that in spades in 2012 and 2014. Marty came here to bring that, but the pieces here are soft.
Julie
PDB shows us again his stubborn side. And I think he just admitted the FO runs things without apparently his input as a coach with the pay grade comments. It’s disheartening. Gallant called PDB a “clown” years ago. It’s true I think but I’m sure Gallant didn’t mean the funny kind.
the hockey God
looks like brown and martinez are gone
the VGK need proven BAD ICE MUCKERS. A complete re vamp of two lines, and at least two new defensive pairs.
VGK is a FAST ICE team, right now. Their players can not play on Stanley Cup playoff games when the ice turns bad. They can not adjust. That is not the coach’s fault. That is equivalent to trying to get a turf horse to run on dirt, or sloppy track. Not going to happen.
I see BROWN MARTY FLEURY REEVES HOLDEN JANZEN as definitely gone. I see 81, 27, 28, 89, Nosek (92) as definitely expendable. I would like to also see them trade Stone and Patches, both of those players are playoff chokes. Tuch hasn’t shown up in semi finals in last two out of three years. He needs to learn to elevate the puck.
I see 2, 7, 10 , 14 (ugh, needs work), smith , 71, kolesar (reeves replacement) , logan thompson, 20, mcnab and hopefully someone from the prospect pool steps up ( although VGK has yet to produce a forward/ center) they have dugan and kerbs (maybe one of them can step up, but they have a number of good d men , maybe two of out of these group will be ready = Korczek , Schuldt, Coghlin. My money is on the latter. They can trade the veterans and get some muckers. Too bad the entry DRAFT this year is going to keep the VGK down.
They can’t get a break
I believe playing in bubble in 2020 and then playing in this year’s playoffs took a mental and physical toll on the team. They need to be better conditioned both mentally and physically. They will have plenty of time to re charge now.
Daryl
Why do you continue to make it sound like VGK is dealing with different issues than everyone else??? Talk about having a mental deficiency! How many more excuses are you going to come up with? I guess as long as you aren’t blaming the coach, you will keep them coming
the hockey God
that comment applies to your posts more than mine !!
I gave a bunch of cures running a full gauntlet of issue, you just rant on coach all the time.
grow up
the hockey God
says the guy who saw the value in getting a mucker like staal
hypocrisy abounds in your comments
Daryl
Says the guy who said we need “mucker” players… and it shows you just how much you really know as Staal isn’t a mucker style of player. You are a joke who thinks he knows everything
the hockey God
STAAL IS A MUCKER PLAYER NOW !! moron ! maybe not earlier in his career but he is now. Shows you are clueless on definition of MUCKER
“Eric Staal’s style of play ain’t pretty, but it works
The veteran is finding his ways to contribute to the Canadiens’ success this post-season.
Montreal has been pitted against the top stars in the NHL all year long. Vegas is an interesting opponent because they have the best depth that we’ve seen so far, but their top six has once again failed to make a true impact on the series. With them out of the way, the bottom sixes have to battle it out for the win. Staal is a bottom six player now, a mucker.
One member of Montreal’s bottom six I want to shine a light on is Eric Staal. He’s been having himself a heckuva playoffs so far, but last night he took it to a whole new level. He’s not the Eric Staal we remember of years past that could take a team on his back and dominate. Maybe he had to learn that lesson for himself after coming to Montreal.
He hasn’t followed the route of most veteran players who’ve transitioned to defensive specialists. This year he has had to figure out a way to continue being an offensive player but with few of the tools that made him so effective throughout his career.
Staal kept his game simple and even notched one of the goals. That goal epitomized the quote, “I’m a slow walker but I never walk back.”
A true meat and potatoes goal from a player who’s embracing his new role.”
the epitome of a MUCKER, refence habs fan site.
Daryl
And once again little g, you come back with your know all. So, Staal used to be a speed guy but since he is playing for MTL he is now a muck guy! Got it… he changed simply because of the team he played for. That damn ice…. what gives it the right to change from one skater to the next!!! Oh, that’s right, he’s bottom six so THAT makes him a mucker! Yeah that makes sense lol.
At no point in this Habs post did they call him a mucker… that is what you call him trying to rationalize your stupid comment about the ice was the reason VGK lost. EXCUSES EXCUSES EXCUSES!!!
Hdbiker7851
Thg – do you enjoy being foolish – no response necessary or needed. I said many times the lack of pp would their killer – hated being right and sad but what’s worse your comment they couldn’t fix it during playoff – that part is true but they have had 1.5 years to fix it and it’s got progressively worse. I thought l saw one of your posts about being a student of the game some of your rambling suggest you are missing a couple of screws. I.doubt that’s the case but anyone who states the computer only spells god in capital letters leads one to wonder.
the hockey God
Biker I have said nothing in my posts to counter anything that you have stated.
Except for one thing that I will address here they couldn’t “fix it during the playoffs”, you realize that the schedule is brutal ? The games are every other day apart. Sometimes a day off, is needed, key players are nursing injuries, optional practice, and a travel day. There is precious little time to “practice” . The schedule is brutal. There is little time for on ice practice. Most of time is drawing things up on board. Their PP consisted of standing around and doing nothing. Not to mention one team has had the best PK in league, the Montreal bad ice muckers. You must go into the playoffs with a routine, and we all know that going into the playoffs with a terrible PP wasn’t likely to be fixed any time soon. What we saw out there was a very tired team, mentally and physically, out of gas. Losing to a fresh team that didn’t play in last year’s bubble playoffs.
Now they have a lot of time to re charge, and maybe build up some off season stamina for a longer playoff run. The constant energy to gain points in standings didn’t help either. Note MTL didn’t do it during regular season and still ended up in FINALS. Seems to me they wasted a lot of energy during the season winning games when they should have been conserving energy for long playoff run. Maybe get some proven bad ice muckers that can play hockey in middle of June and beginning of July (what a joke the NHL has become)
the hockey God
sorry didn’t mean to call you, or anyone a moron
i apologize, i thought i was liberal website insulting those commies
Richard Santomauro
What’s VGK’s record on “bad ice” and “good ice”?
Richard Santomauro
No, I understand ice conditions very well. When the ice sucks it effects the team, all teams and all players. No one “likes” playing on mucked up shitty ice. Some players may do better than others but no GM is looking for players who are suited for shitty ice. That’s pure BS in my opinion.
Lastly, you said VGK’s record on “bad ice” sucks. Well, what is that record? Of course, you don’t have that number because there is no such statistic, period.
hdbiker7851
thg – its a tuff schedule for all teams – I said that your statement was correct concerning the PP – it couldn’t be fixed playoff time – my take is a fact they have had 1.5 yrs to correct it and its got worse. By what you are saying it seems they need a conditioning coach – they are tired physically and mentality out of shape. All teams had the same brutal schedule and as a matter of fact the Canadian teams actually had it worse as they were flying coast to coast to play. Vegas has some serious issues and one of them is the huge differential in contracts. I sincerely hope they don’t dig themselves deeper chasing after another health issue player (JE). I am not a PDB hater he has done some good but I have witnessed two playoff series now where he has been out coached or refused to adjust take your pick – either/or or both. I am sure you realize I am a ROI type individual and look at things in that light. Based on Vegas’s FO spending just doesn’t add up. They are under the false idea you can buy a winning attitude and the Cup – I know you are aware that’s not possible. Besides the PP that was what was missing against Montreal – Montreal had no idea they were suppose to win. Enjoy the summer and keep out of trouble – please get your computer fixed concerning the only capital issue!!!!! – keep smiling October will be here before we know it.
the hockey God
biker take care, also note that the Canadian / north division had a lot more time off this past year due to covid than any other division
in the league.
my coach hate comment goes to those who repeatedly bash coach with no understanding of game, you rarely do that
Richard Santomauro
The bad ice theory is getting old, haven’t you pounded that drum long enough? I agree with you on how much effort was spent trying to win the President’s cup (they didn’t and Colorado still wound up with home ice advantage). Montreal had plenty of time to rest up and heal while VGK was struggling to finish off both Minnesota and Colorado. Injuries to both Pacioretty and Stephenson were a factor, plus we now know that Martinez was playing with a fractured foot.
I am a bit disappointed that PDB played Roy and Kolesar up on line 1 instead of possibly bringing in Glass or Krebs. They could have even brought in Glass even just to center the power play special team.
the hockey God
not a theory, it is a fact
the team record on bad ice is terrible
the hockey God
“I have been following hockey since the 60s and I have to admit that I have never heard of Ice Muckers. LMFAO. Never….”
you never played on bad ice? Or heard of bad ice **
hmm
you don’t know what a mucker is ?
hmmmm
** the last series with MTL was mainly played on bad ice, really bad ice.
the montreal canadian d men are all muckers, some of there forwards are also muckers too, like gallagher and
corey perry and staal, and their other slow staking players are all muckers.
The Dallas Stars team from last year consistently mainly of muckers
the San Jose Sharks before that was another team with bunch of muckers like Thornton among others.
Slow staking grinder type mugs, that may have once been fast and good. They muck it up in corner, they thrive on bad ice. The bad ice is a different type of game. You rarely see tape to tape passes, you rarely see the fast/skilled team do more than one player pass. You are lucky to even see them make a one player pass. During a fast ice game you see the “fast ice” team make two, three and even four passes to four different players. You also see a lot of players losing their edge and falling down all over the place. That repeatedly occurred in these last few games. That is bad ice for you. And I didn’t even get into the Zamboni leaving inconsistent ice sheets, and ice slush, pools of water.
But it the ice is slick and fast, like it is supposed to be. A fast skating team like the VGK normally beat them.
Unfortunately due to weather in JUNE and JULY the FACILTY MANAGERS can not create the same type of ice that they can in January. The players said more than once the ice was bad.
“well both teams play on same surface” yeah, but one team is BETTER playing on bad ice, than the other team is.
And I know what bad ice is, when we were kids we didn’t play in back yard ponds. We actually played in a big RIVER that iced over. There
were ice ruts and snow drifts all over the place. Try playing hockey on that. I know what really bad ice. is .
Daryl
thg…. What is VGK’s record on bad ice and where do I look it up for myself? I tried a couple different searches and didn’t come up with anything
Daryl
Oh, so now it’s not only the ice at fault…. it’s because we played in the bubble last year and MTL didn’t? Got it. And no I’m not putting words in your mouth that is exactly what you said
the hockey God
Daryl
“And once again little g, you come back with your know all.” Not my “know it all” That post with quotes were from Montreal, not my words, regarding Staal. Staal is not same player he was, the post made that all clear if you read it all.
And the ice was part of problem, I said that all along. Go look at all rest of my posts. I never said the ICE was main cause. I repeated said that the VGK were gassed. That combined with bad ice could not be over come. I said it takes more energy to play on bad ice. So stop CHERRY PICKING and leaving out all the things in my posts.
But the theme over the past few years points to lack of muckers and VGK not being consistently over the past few years as being a BAD ICE TEAM.
Cleared up the confusion that you injected into my posts by leaving out important words that you repeatedly and conveniently seem to leave out.
Richard Santomauro
I have been following hockey since the 60s and I have to admit that I have never heard of Ice Muckers. LMFAO. Never….
Daryl
@thg… ok, if you say so. I’m done with it
Richard Santomauro
I’ve been following hockey since the 60s. I know the game. Pete DeBoer has proven himself to be a failure. I am not even in the mindset that he needs another season. His inability to inspire, inability to adapt and the putrid performance on the power play are enough factors for me to put DeBoer in the rear view mirror. Will that happen? Not likely. I am of the belief that it won’t matter what personnel moves are made. DeBoer ruined the Devils, ruined the Sharks and now he’s working on ruining the Golden Knights.
Blitz
Doesn’t seem like any one ever has anything to say about Roy, one way or another. What’s his scoop in all of this, good/bad? I don’t see a great player, though I do think he provided some light in a bad series. I think he brings Tuch down. I think as centers go his is probably 4th behind Nosek. I guess I don’t see high end there, but I don’t see a low end either. Seem like just a vanilla player. What are some thoughts on him? If we grab a good/great center some how this off season, where does Roy go? I am not bagging on him. No one seems to talk about him, but guys I watch with call him out quite a bit.
the hockey God
i talked about no. 10 several times in my posts, I think he has shown a large increase in ability. He was best player on ice for several of the playoff games. Tuch didn’t show up for some reason. He’s a young player and he needs to be more consistent.
I thought no., 2 , and possibly no 14 (? needs to get stronger), and no. 10 are positive factors in their development this year. Remember these are relative young players with most of their careers ahead of them. All three were in AHL a few short years ago.
IF VEGAS can continue to develop their AHLers three at time then there is still hope for this team long term to toss the yoke of being chokes. REmember it took the CAPS over five years to win the CUP. The same for the BOLTS. It is a long term process.
Tim
We can speculate all we want about why Gallant got fired whether he had a disagreement with the Splash Brothers or did they really think he took them as far as he could. How Pete DeBoer got into the conversation who knows supposedly he was in Florida looking to buy a condo so I don’t think he instigated the first conversation. It just seems like our loyalties changed over night. We went from hating the Sharks to hiring there coach and the fan base has probably been split since. You have to give credit to DeBoer on his won loss record I think the best percentage in hockey for the games he coached. He won two big series against the Wild and Avalanche but once again really didn’t have a clue how to beat either Dallas last year or Montreal this year. As much as I praised him for what he’s done I believe he was out of his league in those two series. You have to adapt and he just didn’t have any answers. Going 0 – 15 on the PP in the last series I feel confident there was no team worse unless they were – 1 for 15 which is theoretically impossible. Coming back with the same team will have the same results good goalie equals Vegas is done. Let’s see what rabbit the Splash brothers pull out of there hat. Trade Krebs and it might be Suzuki all over again. There going to tell you how we brought in these young guys Whitecloud, Hague, Coghlan, Kolesar big deal take Coghlan’s fluke hat trick away and how many combined goals did they have? Forget this assist to the assist to a goal bullshit how many direct passes to end in a goal or scoring a goal very few. Our farm system is full of mediocre talent besides maybe Krebs and it won’t surprise me if we move him in a trade for some 30 year old on the downward slide but they do that to win now at all costs. DeBoer said there going to evaluate the talent we can help them with that we all know who’s taking up space. Think about Stone our captain making 9 million a year and doesn’t register a point in 6 games now it that’s not brutal I don’t know what is but he had lots of company.
Fredo
It’s a harsh reakity when you realize your team isn’t as good as you all thought it was. Lol
Tim
Jack Eichel rumors now connecting him to the Knights I hope are just fake news. We need to give up 5 or 6 pieces for a guy with a bad neck and a 10 million contract like we need Covid. That would just about finish me as a Knight fan. You sit back watch them build a team then there goes our prospects and draft choices for damaged goods. I wish there was a rehab for trade anonymous because the Splash Brothers can’t help themselves it’s like a drug.
Howard
Eichel isn’t the answer and if FO here trades for him to give up too much, we are done. The answer is finding a team with a need for something to give you back a need. The perfect fit is SJS. Theodore is good, but redundant with Petro here. SJS is a sunk ship with all that money tied to EK, who is a former shell of himself due to him being injury prone.
In a deal moving Theodore and perhaps 1 others, VGK would get back Couture and Hertl. Now, these guys count for about a 10m cap hit, and with Theodore around 5, u move one of Marshy or Smith = cap would work. Imagine VGK with even one of those guys? Couture is still one of the best centers in The NHL, Hertl is damned good as well. This would also allow you to move Roy if needed. move Karlsson and Stephenson down a line, and there’s your center depth and line scoring depth – Now we would be able to open the game a bit more.
Theodore is good, but he’s not a need, and again, a redundant WANT with Petro here for years to come. Theodore is the guy many teams would place high value on, so you will get high return = GIVE TO GET.
Those dreaming about moving our scrubs for a C1 are well, DREAMING.
Mike StG
Howard, while I agree Theodore would be a good move I think your proposed SJS trade is unlikely, because:
1) They don’t need Theo. They’re already overloaded with D. Burns, EK65 and Vlasic currently cost them 26M, and two of them are puckmovers. In what scenario would they be even remotely interested in adding over 5M more to their D costs??
2) Why would they trade their top 2 centers to a division rival? And in return they would take Marchy or Smith, who are wingers?? Who is supposed to center their top 2 lines?? Old Joe is gone. That would leave Marleau and Gambrell. Really???
3) You’re way off on Couture & Hertl’s combined cap. It’s not 10M, it’s 13.5M.
There are other options. The Nuge is UFA, and so is Haula. Reinhart (BUF) might be available
the hockey God
i agree HOWARD, they should pass on him, would cost way too much. Not worth it in long run. Has issues too.
Richard Santomauro
You do not break up a solid 2nd line trio like Smith, Karlsson and Marchy. Lines 1 and 2 should remain in place for Season 5. There is room for a tweak on line 3 and maybe more on line 4.
Line 1,2 and 3 Centers on this team:
Stephenson
Karlsson
Roy
——————-
Line 4 Centers to develop:
Glass
Krebs
Lechshysyn
Dugan
If you need to clear some cap space and want to trade a defense man then possibly Theodore although I don’t like it. Maybe we lose Martinez due to salary cap. I wouldn’t be happy about it, but it’s a possibility. I think McNabb and Holden are two obvious players who should be shopped. Maybe both of them and bring up Schuldt, Hayes, & Dahlstrom.
I still like the Fleury/Thompson goalie tandem. Lehner should bring in at least a 1st, 2nd and 3rd rounder or a player.
Mike StG
A lot of anger, disappointment and blaming in these posts. I’m disappointed as well, but I don’t understand the view that Vegas fans are entitled to a Stanley Cup. The Caps and Blues fans waited 40+ years, Sharks fans are still waiting after 30. How long did Kings fans have to wait until 2012? This team in 4 years has gone to the conference finals twice and the cup final once, has never missed the playoffs. Let’s see how well Seattle does next year – maybe we will appreciate the success we’ve enjoyed more when they fail to achieve what Vegas has.
I agree there are improvements to be made, corrections of decisions that didn’t work out as hoped, and responsible cap management to carefully plan. But the trajectory of the team is upward, and Foley will spend however much is allowable to reach the ultimate goal to raise the Cup. We can criticize all we want, but NONE of us are privy to all the facts and circumstances that went into decisions made by the FO.
In retrospect it seems to me they felt that acquiring Petro was worth the gamble (or hope) that Glass would have a breakout year and step into a 2C or 3C role. He failed to do that and they didn’t have an answer or workable Plan B. At TD I thought they needed to add a game changing center. Janmark has been good, but I believe if they would’ve pulled out all the stops and acquired Getzlaf that could have put them over the top. Who knows? At this point everything is moot and in hindsight.
Let’s hope the FO will once again improve the team in the offseason. I truly hope they hang on to Krebs. He looked really good in late season play and he’s probably the only player in the pipeline that has a shot at being an elite 1C or 2C. Remember, he was projected top 5 in the draft and fell to a lower spot only because of the skate injury to his Achilles. He’s probably the best player the team has ever drafted in 4 years.
The expansion draft, team maneuvers in advance of it, and offseason moves should be interesting.
Richard Santomauro
100% in agreement, Krebs should be a top consideration to be kept on this team even if it means another year with the Silver Knights.
Rob S.
Careful, Mike. Not only are you being too logical, but you are bringing a sense of perspective to your commentary. On the one hand, you have the folks who believe (not “think”) that we should have kept the Golden Misfits and the magical run from Year One would have continued forever–or, at least, until Fleury retired. One of the most interesting things from watching the old VGK replays during the hiatus last year was how little talent that team really had. Yes, that year was magical, but it’s gone and it’s not coming back. They also hate DeBoer because he’s an ex-Shark, but mostly because he’s not Gerard Gallant. I didn’t much like that move, either, and said so at the time. But that’s over, too. Gallant is not walking back through the door and DeBoer is the coach your team has. That’s life (especially in professional sports); get over it and grow up.
On the other hand, you have the folks who are wringing their hands and saying, “Oh, our player moves didn’t work out last year, so let’s not do anything rash this year.” How many fans do you think there are in Buffalo and Ottawa and Arizona and a dozen other places that wish their GMs and owners gave enough of a crap to try and take some chances to improve their teams? I think there’s something to the “Splash Brothers” nickname that one of the commenters here (sorry, I can’t remember who now) tagged our FO with last year, but at least they are trying to improve the team and, yes, trying to win the Stanley Cup.
We desperately need a legitimate Top Six center; a point I made last year when we exiled Paul Stastny so we could acquire another D-man. It also would be nice to have a center who can actually provide some grit and win an important face-off. But let’s not focus just on Eichel. ($10 million a year for damaged goods? Ouch!) Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is an UFA next year. In terms of grit and face-offs, Nick Bonino and our recent nemesis, Phillip Danault, are, too. Or, since we are going to have to move players to afford free agents, how about a trade? Do you think Edmonton would listen to one of Marchessault or Reilly Smith, as well as Theodore, McNabb and a first-round draft choice (or two) for Leon Draisaitl?
Come on, folks, would any of you have legitimately expected before the draft four years ago that the VGK would have made the playoffs all four years, gone to the Stanley Cup finals once and lost in the semis twice? Yes, the end of each of the last two (well, three–#notamajor) seasons has been disappointing, but Ken is right: the trend is up. Let’s enjoy being in the mix while it lasts. It’s likely that we’ll hit the Buffalo-style years soon enough.
Mike StG
Rob, many good points you make. I think the Nuge might be doable, but can’t see Leon ever getting traded by EDM. I like Danault but he lacks what the team needs in offensive production, although he’s a beast on faceoffs. I still like Haula as a possibility as well. For me Eichel is a big NO, as we would have to give up too many pieces and partly dismantle the team in the process. Plus I feel like his attitude and ego run counter to the team’s overall philosophy.
My biggest hope is Krebs has a breakout year as an elite center.
Coyote
I’ll respectfully disagree with you. The Misfits had talent. Certainly not as deep. They had chemistry, heart, etc. It’s hard to get over the last fours years because we were so close, and a move here or there (or a non move – like the Tatar trade) might have put us over the top in a given year.
the hockey God
good post Rob, remember we had perron and real deal Neal, that first year, both top six players AT THE TIME . And on second line, VGK lost entire second line, and never fully replaced it.
Coyote
We’ll see what Krebs does in his career – I believe Suzuki is the best player we’ve drafted, unless Krebs proves me wrong.
Daryl
We may not agree on much, be I completely agree with you here
THE CURSE
I told you so… No Stanley Cup til this greedy organization makes amends to Season 1 ticket holders they screwed.
Mike StG
Curse, can you explain how they screwed Season 1 ticket holders? I’ve heard this claim before but not sure what it’s about.
THE CURSE
De Boer sucks… Most disrespectful coach to a future Hall of Famer ever!!! Theodore is terrible… Pietrangelo is lost, slow, and over rated! Going to be an anchor for 7 years…
Changed everything this year… Lines, goalies, players, but never tried anything to change the power play, which has sucked forever! Continue to use your over rated D men in 27 and 7 to QB the power play and you will always lose… Should have been Martinez as the #1, and maybe even Coughlan instead of the 15 Million dollar jokes.
arnold rothstein
did you see how happy Fleury was ,and some of other VGK players were WHEN THEY WERE SHAKING HANDS of HAB players at closure of series ?
Didn’t show any dejection at all. Vegas Black Sox scandal.
More proof that the FIX WAS IN !! Fleury and his pals are now cash rich from payoff from the MOB. That includes TUCH, STONE, MAX, Holden and several key other players who took payoff from the mob to throw key games. Did you see the odds that the wise guys cashed in on ?? They took millions.
Arnold THE BRAIN Rothstein
knights fan in minny
are you drunk or stupid
Pauly
Do you have any idea who Arnold Rothstein is/was?
You seriously are part of THE dumbest fanbase in sports history…that guy is still laughing at you
knights fan in minny
how was your saturday pauly what did you do after throwing back a couple of 40s did you go looting or did you mug someone i know you did one or the other its all about the free free free with you and your kind do you take sunday off from thugging
Daryl
You know he was out there somewhere taking something that wasn’t his…. that’s a thugs life (or wanna be)
knights fan in minny
do not know who arnold was do not care was he a thug like you
knights fan in minny
how about arnold the concussion brain
Daryl
Didn’t some of those Black Sox players have some of the best games of anyone??? I guess you think VGK played well enough to make it 7 games then thru in the towel?
Rhonda
Thanks, Arnold…I needed a good laugh today! Ever think of trying out your comedy on AGT?
arnold rothstein
@ Rhonda
Nobody believed Pete Rose was guilty at first either. Very obvious this team threw this series. Look at all the costly mistakes.
Arnold THE BRAIN Rothstein
Daryl
Rose never bet on his own team…. Try again
the hockey God
that is NOT the point Daryl. At the time nobody believed that PETE ROSE BET ON GAMES, period.
The VGK players also did not bet on their own games. The 1919 BLACK SOX also did not BET on their own games. Arnold the brain Rothstein, and the mob FIXED the 1919 World Series by PAYING OFF key Black Sox players to THROW THE GAMES. Arnold and the mob in return bet accordingly. Their play absolutely sucked. Their starting pitcher LEFTY WILLIAMS obviously threw three games in the series. Same applied to key VGK players. They were PAID OFF to throw the series. The play of STONE and Pacriorety was so bad it stood out. So was the play of FLEURY. FLEURY played terrible and his “billy buckner” flub cost them the series. HANDS DOWN, no excuses. That sucked the air out of this team, that was never over come.
Arnold “the Brain” Rothstein
arnold rothstein
that is NOT the point Daryl. At the time nobody believed that PETE ROSE BET ON GAMES, period.
The VGK players also did not bet on their own games. The 1919 BLACK SOX also did not BET on their own games. Arnold the brain Rothstein, and the mob FIXED the 1919 World Series by PAYING OFF key Black Sox players to THROW THE GAMES. Arnold and the mob in return bet accordingly. Their play absolutely sucked. Their starting pitcher LEFTY WILLIAMS obviously threw three games in the series. Same applied to key VGK players. They were PAID OFF to throw the series. The play of STONE and Pacriorety was so bad it stood out. So was the play of FLEURY. FLEURY played terrible and his “billy buckner” flub cost them the series. HANDS DOWN, no excuses. That sucked the air out of this team, that was never over come.
Arnold “the Brain” Rothstein
Daryl
And yet VGK won the next game after the MAF mistake….
Dang there are a few morons on here…. Yeah VGK players intentionally lost this game. It makes so much sense smh. What a bunch of fucking morons
Pauly
Confirmed – dumbest fan base…thank goodness my people are breeding yours out
knights fan in minny
thats all your people know how to do is breed there to stupid to do anything else when you breed you get more welfare just your style pauly how many little welfare children do you have running around do you get lots of fathers day cards
Daryl
I bet his crack whore mom is working the corner right now trying to get more kids
Pauly
I have 9 kids all by white women…you are being replaced!
knights fan in minny
i bet she is fat dumb and stupid and no white guy wanted her a white mans sloppy seconds she was desperate the thugging life pauly coon
Pauly
Its 7 different white women, all under 25, most from good sides of town – they know that your kind are being replaced! They love the brothers and do it to get back at you nazis
knights fan in minny
your nothing but a liar and a dreamer your probably white and being a ass clown punk
Pauly
Breeding you out
Daryl
I think you are 100% correct… he/she/it probably thinks it would be easier to come in and pretend to be black thinking he could get under our skin more and cause more problems. I find this it funny and it gives me a few laughs throughout the day
Daryl
It’s the internet, you can lie and be whatever you want…. if it makes you feel better go for it. BTW, who’s computer (or phone) did you steal so you can post on this site?
Fredo
Paula,
Dude just shut up! This is the reason people hate you
Daryl
There is trailer trash everywhere…. but you just proved his point. Have more kids to get more money from the government because thugs like you don’t know how to work a real job
knights fan in minny
i bet she is fat dumb and stupid and no white guy wanted her a white mans sloppy seconds she was desperate the thugging life pauly coon who pays for those kids guessing yu dont
Tim
If Cody Glass, Payton Krebs, and Jack Dugan could come in and contribute it would take the stress off of hurrying to grab a center. By dumping some salary we’d be in good shape at the trade deadline if we needed to add a player. With the Pacific division in a rebuild mode were the only legitimate contender so I believe we can give these young guys a chance before the Splash Brothers go big game hunting. We’ve got a few other D-Men we can give a shot to. I won’t speculate what players they’ll trade or not resign that’s over my pay grade.
Richard Santomauro
I would be shopping Lehner, Holden or McNabb and Reaves. No more trading away future young players like Suzuki. Krebbs, Lechshysyn Dugan and the two 6’4″ HSK defensemen need to be given legit shots.
Line 1 – Stone, Stephenson, Patches
Line 2 – Smith, Karlsson, Marchy
Line 3 – Tuch, (Roy, Krebs) Janmark
Line 4 – Carrier, (Glass, Lechshysyn), Kolesar
D1 – Petro, Martinez
D2 – Theodore, (McNabb or Holden)
D3 – Hague, (Schuldt, Dahlstrom or Hayes)
Goalies – Fleury & Thompson
Tim
Richard will that team beat another great goaltender? It will be groundhog day all over again for the third year in a row. Our top six couldn’t hit there ass with both hands in the Montreal series and presto things will change next year. Another year older and deeper in debt doesn’t make me think we’ll climb the mountain.
Richard Santomauro
Tim, Tim, Tim —- I have been a hockey fan for my entire life. I became Vegas fan and season ticket holder in year 1. Since then we’ve had the pleasure of going to the playoffs every single year and to the finals in year 1.
Sure, the top 6 struggled in Season 3 against Dallas and again this year against Montreal. But that’s not a reason to say they can’t hit their ass with both hands. And no, presto perfecto doesn’t happen over night.
The Vegas fan base is extremely spoiled. The Cash Brothers have put this team into Cap debt. For me, it isn’t about the top 6 but rather about the coaching staff. This team as it currently stands will make the playoffs next year. How deep they can go will be determined on coaching, strategy and indeed how much luck is on their side. Tell me that luck didn’t help Montreal win game 4 on Fleury’s mistake. Fleury makes that play 99 times out of 100.
No, I am not worried about the team roster too much. My concern is with strategy and the failed DeBoer experiment. For me, it’s time to move on from DeBoer.
Tim
Richard valet points and yes coaching became a problem but between our top 6 and the PP you can blame some on the coach but the first two lines did very little and did very little last year against Dallas. Talent is talent and if your a scorer a bad coach isn’t going to stop you from scoring so I still say they couldn’t hit there ass with both hands Ha Ha Richard your a hockey lifer and I’m a baseball lifer you being a hockey lifer how can they not play our best on the PP. For instance what is Kolesar among others on the PP they couldn’t score if there life depended on it?
the hockey God
pdb didn’t blow the habs series by flubbing a goal and costing a key game that the team could never over come
get over it
it’s not on coach, he didn’t put this team of chicken chokes together, he was coaching up in San Jose when the team was put together.
Daryl
Bad ice and 1 bad play by the goalie???
Unbelievable
Richard Santomauro
Tim,
Sure, power play sucked and under trap pressure the VGK top 6 weren’t very good. What percentage of the blame goes to the coach and how much to the players? That’s a good question. All I know is that the power play has regressed under DeBoer.
In Season 5 I would like to see Glass and Krebs tested to see if they might be better for the PP. I am not saying that’s the answer, but it’s something that should be looked at.
Tim
I don’t see how anyone can deal with Buffalo you have a bad owner an incompetent management team and a team that finished last in points but they want the moon for there players. Personally I’d tell them to take a flying fuck on a rolling donut.
Howard
TIM – LOLOL A flying one?
the hockey God
since there is so much interest in the topic
i will be putting together a list and ranking of NHL
fast ice teams
and slow ice (muckers) teams
wait for it
and how you rate fast ice versus bad ice
Hdbiker7851
Thg – Why bother l am sure you have better things to do with your time and besides who really cares – the train left the station and the vegas team missed the train. It really doesn’t matter at this point. Are you cheering for Montreal or Tampa bay?
Daryl
I know the question was directed toward me but….
I’m split on this. First I put money on TB before we even got to the playoffs. I also have a hard time rooting for a Canadian team. On the other hand, the Pens were the last team to win back to back and I don’t want TB to match them. Plus MTL knocked out VGK so I kinda root for them just to say we were knocked out by the Cup champions
the hockey God
go habs go
of course
but they won’t win, the TB Bolts are just as good on bad ice , and have their own set of muckers. Since the Bolts are over the cap, VGK should take a look at picking up a few of them in off season if they can shed Fleury, Holden, Reaves, and Shea. Fleury especially needs to go. Some people think Lehner should go , I am in opposite camp. I would keep Logan and Lehner because Lehner barring injury would be around longer to allow Logan to develop his game. Fleury is done in my opinion. Two flubs in one playoffs series is not getting job done. Someone said he was being paid off, sure looked like it.
I think it will be bolts in six.
Daryl
Didn’t Lehner just lose? And your can defend him all you want but he has bad positioning in that last goal. Lehner had 1 win against a winning team this entire season. Without some of those amazing saves against cCOL, VGK wouldn’t had gotten past them
Thompson only needs 2 tears and both Lehner and MAF can give him that. I personally hope MAF comes back to the Pens for one last run.
the hockey God
i think lehner will be around longer than Fleury, after flub in semi’s i don’t think anyone will want Fleury, even the pens. And flub in AVs series also. Two flubs in back to back series.
if logan has issues, and fleury is gone, then you have nothing to go back on. if lehner is gone.
Daryl
And didn’t Lehner give up like 6 goals then went and hid???
the hockey God
someone wrote “Lastly, you said VGK’s record on “bad ice” sucks. Well, what is that record? Of course, you don’t have that number because there is no such statistic, period.”
The Washington Caps series was played on bad ice- VGK lost 4 games to 1.
The San Jose series was played on really bad ice, VGK lost 4 games to 3.
The bubble was played on good and bad ice, the last series on mostly bad ice against dallas, VGK lost , was it 4 game to 1 ? Yes.
and montreal habs played nearly all games on bad ice, VGK lost 4 games to 2.
Pretty obvious trend there.
Look at Tampa Bay’s run, they began in 2014-5 season and it took them
five years to win. This is typical. IT took the CAPS even longer. Can’t compare other teams prior to expansion of league to present format.
Daryl
What is this nonsense??? Way to make up your stats. I like how you say “mostly” then say VGK lost. You do the same with the other series.
You and this damn ice BS is funny
the hockey God
“mostly ” means that of the five games most of the games were on bad ice, I am sorry you don’t understand plain English and then you resort to put your own thoughts, misplaced as they are, into other people’s post.
the bad ice was not made up, it was there, anyone with a brain can see it.
Do you suffer from PTSD and have nightmares, making things up ?
Daryl
So, of the 5 games how many were bad? Or was it just the games VGK lost that had bad ice? Basically what you are saying is VGK wins the Cup if they play on good ice which is why teams intentionally use bad ice when playing VGK? hahaha
You are the only one making things up here. You can get help for that. You can get meds before it’s too late
Richard Santomauro
Why do you keep egging him on? We’ll never move on from mucking and bad ice if you keep on poking him LOL!
Daryl
Sorry, you are right, I just need to stop lol
the hockey God
once again putting words into my posts that are not there, I didn’t say they intentionally do it. Although Freddy Shero did it. Most of the time the ambient weather conditions control the ice. Don’t you read my posts, I went over this when I gave the ice conditions 1 to 5 ratings. Go read it.
In the bubble, played in front of as I recall no fans, the VDK ice conditions were bad in four out of five games due to ambient temperature conditions and failure of facility maintenance to control ice temperature consistently as four out of five games progressed.
I gave you the other series, you seem to have a reading comprehension issue and failure to process information correctly, always inserting other thoughts that are not even close to those presented in the original premise.
Move on, you just don’t “get it”, pretty obvious some mental comprehension issues exist.
Daryl
So, of you are a fast team then your aren’t a muckers team. Got it. I’m still confused how Sid and the Pens soon back to back Cups… They Quant a big team not were they a muckers filled team
Hdbiker7851
Daryl – interesting take – while l wanted to see vegas in the finals l knew the probability of that happening was slight. I was encouraged when they beat minn and Denver but also re organized Montreal was on a mission and was a very dangerous team – not personnel wise but attitude wise and unfortunately vegas came up short in that category. It should make for some excitement those two youngsters could be a handful for TB .l will cheer for Montreal as l am sure they are the underdogs and it would be good for Canadian team to win this one since they beat vegas.
Hdbiker7851
Daryl – l am sure you realized “reorganized ” above was suppose to read recognize. These gadgets think they know more than the user. Have a great summer stay safe out there.
Daryl
Yeah I understood you
the hockey God
Richard Santomauro
Why do you keep egging him on? We’ll never move on from mucking and bad ice if you keep on poking him LOL!
because he knows I am right, and just can’t get his head around that fact. Then he keeps putting more words into my posts that are not there.
hard head.